Detection and quantification analysis of chemical migrants in plastic food contact products

Plastic food contact materials (FCM)-based products were widely used in everyday life. These products were normally imposed to strict regulations in order to pass the enforcement tests of compliance as a prefix condition. However, even in these “qualified” materials, unknown chemical substances, not involving in legislation lists, could migrate from FCM. In this perspective, the present work aims to thoroughly analyze by means of Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) the different substances/migrants in 120 qualified FCM plastic products. Unexpectedly, among the identified compounds (nearly 100), only 13% was included in the permitted list of Commission Regulation EU No 10/2011. All the identified compounds were classified into 11 categories according to their chemical structure and the FCM type, whereas toxicology data were in addition analyzed. Each plastic type exhibited different preferences of chemical migrants. Fortunately, most of the compounds identified were of low toxicity, and only 4 chemicals were included in priority lists and previous literature reports as potential risk factors. Subsequently, the accurate amount of these 4 chemicals was determined. The amount of Bis(2-ethylhexyl) adipate (DEHA) and Bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) were lower than the SML in Commission Regulation EU No 10/2011, and that of stearamide was under the recommended use quantity. The 2,4-di-tert-butylphenol (2,4-DTBP) was widely exist in the investigated FCM products. Among them, the highest level is obtained in polypropylene/low density polyethylene (BOPP/LDPE) materials, up to 45.568±31.513 mg/kg. In summary, a panel of unlisted chemical migrants were discovered and identified by GS-MS screening. The results implied that plastic FCMs were not so “inert” as they usually considered, and further safety evaluation should be performed toward the complete identification of new substances in FCM products.